Tractor plow and cultivator



May l, 1928.

B. E. BYRD TRACTOR PLOW AND CULTIVATOR Filed Auz. 2. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 1, 1928. 1,667,880

B; E. BYRD TRACTOR PLOW AND CULTIVATOR Filed Aug. 2. 19214 2 sheets-snee: 2

(//l ///lfy IIIIIIIIII,

lqnllllllllll N y! IA mumlum Mm/W' www mounted on vertical shaft 22 carrying` the usual steering;r wheel 223. By properly proportioning pinions Qt) and 21. the tractor may he lQteeretfl readiljv over rough ground without puttingr too much at rain on the arma` of the operator. 1t is apparent that two wheels ma)v he carried h v fork lt) or its equivalent. and steered in the saine way.

It is higljhl)v advantageous to provide a construction h v which the tractor may he driven in either direction with equal facil ity. Various arrangements tor this purpose are po.ss' ;ihle7 preterahly consistingof dual controlsl 'for the motor 11 and either two separate Feats or a single seat. which maf: he hit'tcd when the direction ot drive is reversed. Numerreur)A arrangements ot controls and Seat@ are ohvioufllv por: hle: and while AI have .fhowu a jnel'erred torni. l do not conaider mjy invention to he limited thereto. either aw to .f.pe=i-itic relation ot the flea( and rontrol. or aa to the exact location thereot relative to the motor. VVl prei'er to use :L aingle seat 13 rotatahly mounted on trame l() So that it majv he shifted by the operator at will, the .Steering means preferably being" located adjacent-to the axis of rotation of the seat, and dual controls tor the motor being provided so that the lsame can he controlled Ytrom either poaition ot the seat.

Mounted adjacent to one end ot. traine lo ifs the tractor driving nieehanieni. which preterablj,v consists ol a transverse shaft Q4 rotated hv the motor and Carrying one or more drive wheele 25. jinjy preferred form ot' rotatingY shait't 24T liv meane of motor 11 ma)v he provided. I have Shown a worm grear Qt' mounted on shaft 2t and meshing with a worm QT, preferably connected to the drive shaft; ot motor ll through gear shift mechaniein 1T.

This gear uhititmay he o1" an)v deeired tvje. man v ot which are well-known in the art in connection with automobile construction. and preterahly includes means tor drivina' worm :'T in either direction. a neutral position in which the motor may he lett runningr without operating the worin: and it .leeired. two or more rateS o'f` Speed to accommodate the tractor hoth to heavy dut)v and to lighter requirements, such as hauling. where peed is desirahle.

l have discloeed a drive wheel 25 mounted on shaft 24 adjacent, trame 10 at one Side, and a wheel 2S on said Shalit: at the opposite side ot `traine lt). llheel QS mav he aimilar to wheel and mav operate as a drive wheel or, if deaired, it may be rotatably mounted on the Shaft and act merely as a Support.'

I'provide means tor varying the distance het'ween wheele 9,5 and QS to permit the use o1" the tractor in cultivating: hetween rows varying in width. For this purpoeet I prof- :ralily" l1ave one or bothI wheels slidahljY mounted and adapted to he positioned at. varyinj r distance` lrom t'rame lt). .ln the preferred torni. l have rahown wheel Q8 as hein;y l lidahl \v mounted on shaft 24, wheel Q5 teingr in lined poaition. For this purpose, #hatt l preterahlv consist: ot' an outer tulfular shaft :J upon which worin gear 2t? ilnounted. and which extendsl t'roln the side otA the l'rame adjacent wheel :28 through hearingf--v in the trame. and which carries wheel ltotatahly mounted within the outer shaft 2f) is inner #haft 30. having a liejvway or alot 2l engaged hv keys or luga mounted on outer shaft Z). so that inner #hatt ltl is positively rotated therehy.

ll'heel 251. `i:- mounted on #aid Shaft hetween collars 32. and may he keyed to Said hatt ft) it de:i1ed. Collars 235i are also Invair-fl on f-:hatt ft) adjacent the ends of outer aha'tt '29. iv properlj` adjustingY collars i12 and P63 on the ehal't 210. and lrv f-Llidinef aaid hatt endwise. the dirtance, of wheel 'iti trom wheel may he, varied within wide limite. the particular advantage ol this con- .=-truction heine; that the parts: may he ar ranged as shown in Fig. 3 with a relatively short portion ot' Shaft 530 projectingr from each aide ot the machine.

This avoids a long. projecting @haft` which would he liahle tio antler and inflict. damage; and the tractor is ordinarily used in thisy position. When desired` however, the inner Shaft. may he arranged to project: a aulif-'tantial distance to one side of the tractor. permitting the construction ol a relatively narrow machine capahle ot a verjyv wide spread between wheels.

.lt will he apparent trom the description and drawing. that the transverse drive shaft comprises concentric inner and outer ineinhere. which are eoiuitrained to rotate to `eether. hut are adjustahle lf'majitudinally with reapeet to each other. The drive wheel is carried h v the outer uieinher and the snpporfing wheel h v the inner niemher.

ll'hile the tractor as so i'ar deacrihed may he used tor traction pulpof-'ef= and agricultural implements` oi' the usual kinda may he a tachcd thereto and operated in the ordinary n|:|nncr.l pret'cr to mount certain kinda ol` agricultural implementa directly upon the` tractor. and prct'erahlv hevond the drive wheel. though it' t'ound de-irahle such impiemonte ma)v he mounted hetween the drive wheel and guide wheel ltv. For this purpose. l utilize an arm connected at one Vend to the trame ot the tractor and carrving at. its outer end the agricultural iinjilcnicnt. which ie jn'eterahly positivelji7 rotated h v the tractor nieehaniem.

(ine torni oi mv invention is' dieelosed. in which provide an arln or Ytrame fil pivoted at one. end to shaft. and carrying au agricultural implement' o5 at it: outer end.

l provide means` for raising and lowering Hifi about its pivot.

arm 34 to controlthe operation of the implement 35, Various means mav be'used for `this purpose the preferred method consisting' of providing` an extension 36 of arm 34, means carried by frame 10 being,` adapted to shift the extension 36 and rock arm 3a Extension 36 is disclosed infFig'. l as extending upwardly; but it is understood that this is merely illustrative, as this` ertensiim may extend directly forward to al posiion adjacent the operatoi"s seat, and controlmeans may be provided at that point.

For the purpose of controlling arm 34, I have disclosed a rod 37 passing through a standard 38 mounted on frame 10, and provided with a hand wheel 39 threaded on said red.V A, link 40 connects adjustable rod 37 with the extension 36. preferably passing through a vertically elongated aperture in said extension and through a similar aperture in an rip-turned end il of rod 37, said link being` preferably heldin position by nuts threaded on the ends thereof.

Means is provided for permitting arm 34 to yield slightly whenvimplement meets with an unusual obstruction. Various con stru ctions may be employed for this purpose, preferably including a spring element in the mechanism for elevating,r and lowering arm 341-. In the mechanism disclosed, l preferably provide a helical spring@ coiled about link bearingat one end against the `flange 14.1 of rod 37, and at the other end against a collar 43`adjustably mountedon link 40. A collar, nut or similar element is provided on link 40 adjacent the side of extension 36 closest to spring 42, so that the normal action of the spring' is to force arm 34 downward until the end nut on the link contacts with flange 4l of adjusting rod 37 g but an obstruction in the path of implement 35 will raise it against the pressure of spring 42, link 4:0 slidingf through flange al.

lt will be evident that various forms of agricultural implements may be mounted ou the outer vend of arm 34, and my invention comprehends the use of the usual implements mounted thereon and. preferably detachable therefrom. yIn the preferred 'form of my invention, however, I have provided means for carrying a rotatable implement. and means for rotating said implement.

The carrying means includes a bearing LAist at the outer end of arm 34, in which is `mounted a hollow shaft 45 adapted to carry an implement 35. j

l have disclosed a hanger 4:6 pivoted on the outer shaft 29 at the opposite side of drive wheel. 25 from arm 34. the lower end of hanger i6 carrying a bearingl 47 in which shaft le rotates; but it. apparent that this is not an essential part of my invention, as the outer end of arm 3ft may bf2 provided st,V ses through the implement 35. `The bearn'igrs for shaft 45 are preferably of the ball bearing type. The `bearings and shaft -lare preferably arranged andl constructed so that the `miplement 35 may be mounted either at the outer side of drive wheel 25 or at the inner side, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In the form ot construction disclosed, l have accomplished this object by having' shaft t5 of hollow construction,

the inner shaft 43 being; splined or keyed thereto and adapted to carry implement 35 on one end, which is preferal'il y tapered and may be slotted, rectangular, or otherwise crms'tructed so as to afford positive engagement with implement 35. lt will be apparent that by` removing the implement and reversing the position of inner shaft 43, the implement may be mount-ed adjacent the center line of the tractor. i

Anydesired means of rotating implement 35 may be utilized, the preferred form disclosing sprockets 49 mounted on shafts 29 and @t5 and connected by a chain 50, the sprockets being; so proportioned that the peripheral. speed of implement 35 is slightly greater than the peripheral speed of drive wheel 25. i

A great variety `of in'lpleinents may be mount-ed on shaft the form disclosed having a cylindrical or preferably a slightly frustoconical hub or `body having a plurality of spirally arrr-nged outstanding' 'H es 52 mounted thereon,- the effect of this t l of excavator being' to dig into the soil and throw it to-one side, the ejecting operation y elevated with implement 35 clear of the `ground. For hauling pru'lfioses. the load conm-icted to suitablelinlrs at either end of the frame l0, and the tractor is driven in the usual manner. either end foren'iost, the fear shift pern'iittingr travel in either direction with equal facility and, if desired, a change of speed. j

For use in plowing or cultivating, the distance between wheels 25 and 28yis adjusted if necessary by properly locating collars 32 and 33. Hand wheel 39 is manipulated to bring` implement 35 into contact with the soil. any desired degree of pressure upon the implement being' available by proper adjustment of rod 37 up to the limit provided by the weight .of 'the ,luach'raey rim tragt@ then moves ahead, and the peripheral speed ot implement 35, which is slightly greater than that olf wheel 25, causes it to dircii in and pertorni ,its excavating function, at the same time as isting in the progress ot the machine and concentrating the power of the motor on the excavator in the presence of obstacles` It a stone or similar obstruction is encountered. thc tendency ol' the cultivat'or will ho to ride over the stone` its rotation aiding;l in this etifect. the spring?r connection #L2 permitting arm ll to rise slightly without raising the wheels ot' the tractor ott ot the ground. This operation occura, regardless ol the direction in which the tractor traveling. ll'hen the worl if; con'ipleted. arm Il-l is raised and the tractor is ready to return without further adjustment.

In view ot the desirability ot providing positive traction by the rotating implement, l have particularly described a type of implement constructed so that it has a tendency to dig into the soil, a tendency increasing proportionately to the increase of power, insuring the maximum both of eX- avating etiect and ot' tractivc effort.

Furthermore, the tapered base and augerlilie construction tend to throw the dirt to one side olE the furrow in a highly desirable way. The advantage of the particular typo ot excavatingiinplen'ient disclosed is that it is equally etl'ectve regardless of the direction in which the tractor is ope `atedboth as to excavatingl and tractive effects. Such a. construction avoids any change of implement when the direction of operation of the tractor is reversed, and permits the implenient to be operated up to Within a few inches ot a fence, and then operated in the reverse direction, merely by 'reversing the direction of drive ot the tractor, permitting the utilization of practically every inch ot ground. This effect is also due in part to the arrangement ot thc eiuravatiiu,r implement projecting' clearly beyond ljioth the 'trame ot' the tractor and the support for the excavator itsel'l'.

lVhile thc above advantages adapt the specific excavating implement described paiticularly to use with thistypev otl machine, it. is apparent that many other implements. both rotatingf and non-rotating, may he mounted on the end ot' siuipnrting 'l'rame ill without departing trom my invention in its broad aspect'.

lt is also apparent that the specitie arrangement oi rotating` excavator and drive ahat't; may he utilized in connection with a machine not carijving it1 own motive power. the drive uliaift being rotated by the rotation. ol the wheel or wheels as the machine iu hauled over the ground.

lYhilc lV have dcsiifrihed a prcl'erred form ot my invention and a number ol' vm-iationis thereoftf. it will he apparent that many other changes in and modilications ot' the prelerred form as disclosed are readily possible; and I do not consider my invention to be limited to the Ytorni disclosed with the variations indicated, as its scope is commensurate with the broad inventive ideas contained in this specification and covered by the t'ollowing claim.

l claim:

In a tractor including a wheel supported trame, a tool support carried thereby, a hol low shaft on the support, a driving;- connection between the shalt and the wheels ot the tractor, and a tool carryingr shalt; tittiircr within the hollow shaft from either end thereof and havingmr a driving connection with said shaft.

Signed at Durham, in the county ol' Durham7 and State oli' North Carolina.y this lat day of July A. D. 1921.

BRITTON E. llYRl). 

